Steven N.
The family company of the Mohács Mayor Gábor Pávkovics (pictured) was awarded 1 billion Ft. (US $3.11 million) in rural development aid, reported RTL Híradó.
Patrik Schwarcz-Kiefer, a Jobbik member of the Baranya County Assembly, asked the mayor of Mohács about the success of his business at the most recent meeting of the county assembly, to which the Fidesz mayor replied:
“The resources are going to a good place… The piquancy of the situation is that I, as mayor, want to capitalize on my abilities in the private sector as well, and do not want to support my family through my urban and political connections.”
The mayor of Mohács also added that his company was just one of many winning applicants. “More than five thousand farmers have received rural development aid in Baranya County,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture told RTL that neither the applicant’s party affiliation nor its worldview would be examined in evaluating the applications for the Rural Development Program and in awarding the grants.
The ministry noted that the aid provides 50% of a project’s funding, so applicants have to contribute a significant amount of their own funds toward it as well. So far, 229,000 grants have been awarded in the program, with a total value of 2 trillion Ft. (US $6.23 billion).
RTL Klub previously reported that nearly one-tenth of the rural development aid that went to Baranya County, totaling 10.5 billion Ft. (US $32.7 million), was won by only four companies. The managing director of all four firms was István Mayer, the mayor of Villány, who participated in the Fidesz-sponsored “Stop, Gyurcsány!” campaign despite being ostensibly political independent.
[Telex]
